On last day, 9 BJP candidates, 2 allies file nomination; all likely to go through

New Delhi: Eleven NDA candidates including Union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian filed their nomination papers on Wednesday for the September 3 Rajya Sabha bypolls in nine states.

The results for the elections to 12 vacant Rajya Sabha seats will be announced on September 3. Wednesday was the last date for filing nomination papers.

The candidates who filed their nomination Wednesday are: Kiran Choudhry (BJP, Haryana); Mamata Mohanta (BJP, Odisha), Jagannath Pradhan (Odisha, Independent- fielded by BJP as “dummy “); Mission Ranjan Das and Rameshwar Teli (Assam, BJP).

Dhairyasheel Patil (Maharashtra, BJP), Nitin Patil (Maharashtra, NCP); Ravneet Singh Bittu (Rajasthan, BJP); Upendra Kushwaha (Bihar, Rashtriya Lok Morcha), Manan Kumar Mishra (Bihar, BJP); Union minister George Kurian (Madhya Pradesh, BJP); and Rajib Bhattacharjee (Tripura, BJP) also filed their nomination papers. Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi filed his nomination from Telangana on Monday.

Ten of the 12 Rajya Sabha seats fell vacant as the sitting members, including Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Sarbananda Sonowal and Jyotiraditya Scindia, were elected to Lok Sabha recently.

BJP leader Kiran Choudhry, who switched over from the Congress in June filed her nomination from

Haryana and is set to elected unopposed as she is the lone candidate in the fray. Some JJP rebel MLAs also extended support to her candidature as she filed her nomination on the last day.

No other party has put up their candidate for the bypoll for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Haryana which was necessitated after Congress’ Deepender Singh Hooda was elected to Lok Sabha from Rohtak. His Rajya Sabha term was to end on April 9, 2026.

In Odisha, Kudumi community leader Mamata Mohanta filed her nomination as the BJP’s official candidate, while the party’s Jagannath Pradhan also submitted his papers as an Independent.

Odisha BJP in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar said, “Pradhan has been fielded for safety of the party candidate. There should be no more discussions on Pradhan’s candidature,” Tomar said.